This topic is one that can sometimes be hotly debated amongst gamers. It is hotly debated for productivity, usability, etc etc but for the purposes of this article, I will steer this article to the realm of gaming. Why should wide screen matter/not to you.
Infamy is a dominantly FPS oriented clan. But the scope/appeal/benefits of wide screen gaming is almost universal. First, lets learn some terminology.
Resolution: Wikipedia defined as "The display resolution of a digital television or computer display typically refers to the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed."
Nicely confusing pic of various resolutions
Aspect Ratio: Basically the width divided by height (ZOMG MATH!).
It should be noted that wide screen monitors for computers are typically 16:10 and wide screen TVs are 16:9 (we computer users REALLY appreciate the extra height). Full screen computer and TV monitors are 4:3.
Field of View: The angular extent of the 'world' that you see. (its ok, you can read it again slowly :p ).
Ok, back to gaming.
Now I have to point out that how wide screen is implemented is DEPENDENT on the game. There is no uniform/standardized way in which it is implemented.
Oh noes?
Well here are the basic screen implementations:
Horizontal Plus: Basically they take the image displayed on a 4:3 and tack on the sides. This results in an INCREASED field of view. The Source Engine's implementation of wide screen is Horizontal Plus (which means you can see MORE horizontally than the people using 4:3 - a distinct advantage). I think CoD4's implementation is like this too. See pics below
CSS Full Screen (4:3)
CSS Wide Screen (16:10)
CoD 4 Full Screen (4:3)
CoD 4 Wide Screen (16:10)
Vertical Minus: This is the opposite of Horizontal Plus. As far as gamers go, this sucks. Basically they take the image displayed on 4:3 and crop it down to 16:10. So you see LESS then people with full screen. :
A quick example of this that I remember is BioShock.
BioShock FOV 4:3 vs 16:10
The image is obviously a 4:3 full screen image but the 'red' area is chopped off for wide screen users. 2K games finally wised up and fixed it to Horizontal Plus after a patch.
Pixel Based: This basically holds true regardless of what aspect ratio you use. It will display an image based on your resolution (higher resolutions see more regardless if 4:3 or 16:10). 2D games are usually like this.
Stretch: This implementation is basically stretching the image from 4:3 to 16:10. So things will appear 'fat' on the screen and basically will look like crap.
*Above pictures from WideScreenGamingForums
Now if the CoD4/CSS pics didn't show you and you need written reinforcement, Wide Screen monitors (again dependent on implementation) can give you a visual advantage. You have a wider field of view and therefore can see/cover more in game. Think of it this way, you can see a guy who's on 4:3 before they can see you.
-PsYkHoTiK
On a side note, WSGF is a GREAT resource for wide screen gaming (big surprise huh?). You can pretty much find a hack for games that doesn't properly/support wide screen gaming (they can help you turn the stupid Vertical Minus to a Horizontal Plus). If there is a way, it is posted there.
Also, there are some monitors that you can rotate and that just opens up a whole new can on stuff you can do.
My Dual Wide Screen setup tilted
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